BYD Overtakes the Competition: A Rise in the Electric Vehicle Industry

The Chinese automobile manufacturer BYD Co. sold a total of 4.25 million passenger vehicles last year, narrowing its gap with Tesla in the race for the title of the world's leading electric vehicle manufacturer. The Shenzhen-based company set a new monthly sales record in December, supported by subsidies and additional incentives for buyers. In that month, BYD sold an impressive 509,440 plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles, including 207,734 pure electric cars. This resulted in an annual sales figure of 1.76 million battery-powered cars, representing a 41% year-on-year increase. While BYD continues to boost its sales figures, many traditional automakers such as Nissan, Volkswagen, and Stellantis face challenges – particularly in China, where their sales are plummeting and they are falling behind in the transition to electric vehicles. Tesla remains a tough competitor and plans to release its fourth-quarter sales figures soon. The company needs to deliver at least 515,000 electric vehicles in the last three months of 2024 to achieve its targeted 'slight growth' with an annual delivery of 1.81 million vehicles. Analysts' forecasts anticipate 510,400 deliveries, slightly below Tesla's expectations. Nevertheless, Tesla remains ahead of BYD, which lagged by 124,100 vehicles in the third quarter but closed the gap with a final push. BYD's current performance cements its position among the world's leading automakers and brings it closer to the status of industry giants like Ford and Honda. For the first time, BYD's annual revenue will exceed the 100 billion US dollar mark. This success is mainly due to strong domestic sales in China, supported by increased subsidies in the second half of the year. However, BYD missed its target of selling about half a million vehicles outside of China. European markets remained challenging due to additional tariffs imposed by the European Union on Chinese electric vehicles.